10 Tips for Creating a Destination Wedding Website

Congratulations – you’re engaged! Now the arduous task of planning your wedding and organizing a vacation for friends and family begins. But, never fear there are some ways that you can make the planning process easy and FUN! I always recommend two things to my clients to get them organized and on the right path – a Pinterest account and a Wedding Website. Pinterest will get you going on brainstorming your ideas and your overall vision – we’ll talk about that in another post. But, a wedding website will help to get you and your guests organized and excited and will take the pressure off of you answering the same questions over and over – Where will you be staying? What is the destination like? Where should we stay? How do we get there?

All of these questions and more can be posted to your wedding website – a place for your friends and family to go to get updates and find information on your chosen destination and your wedding details. Here are ten tips on how you can get yours up and running like a pro!

1/ Once you have your date and destination – sign up for a *FREE* destination wedding website and capture your url (website address). Some wedding websites will also have a login password that you can send out to guests. You’ll want to have the url and any additional instructions on your Save-the-Dates so that guests have the info right away. Don’t worry about not having all the details right away – the beauty of a wedding website is that you can keep adding information to it as you go along. Some of the free wedding websites that I love are:

eWedding.com has a lot of great features and walks you through all of the set up. It has fun, customizable themes and even the ability to create your own custom url (for a slight fee)

Love vs. Design I just love their indie-style save-the-dates, invitations, menu cards, etc … AND you can even choose a free wedding website design that complements the designs!

Wedding Wire is a great resource wedding ideas, planning tools and more and they have some great free wedding websites

2/ Choose a theme and set the tone for your destination wedding experience. Along with your Save-the-Dates this is the first “taste” of what’s to come that your guests will get. So consider your wedding theme and the overall impression you want your guests to get. Many free sites will allow you to customize the theme so that you can even tie in your wedding colors. Having a formal wedding? Consider a more elegant style theme. Planning toes in the sand and cocktails in hand for your nuptials? Choose a beachy theme with flip flops and other fun elements!

3/ Introduce yourselves and the wedding party! Often this is the first time for family members to meet each other and sometimes even you. Take the opportunity to have fun and share your story. Choose fun pictures that really illustrate who you are as a couple. Introduce your wedding party and other special friends. This will help to break the ice when everyone actually meets in person.

4/ Introduce the location. This is where you can really get everyone excited. Tell your guests why you chose the destination – have you been there before? What makes you want to include it as part of your personal history? What got YOU excited about going there? Be sure also to include helpful links to websites with details and information on things to do in the area – like www.My-StCroix.com Give your guests the opportunity to explore the destination and get excited too.

5/ Once you have your wedding venue and accommodations set be sure to add that information for your guests. You should also list NEARBY accommodations that you recommend in a couple of price points. This will help avoid guests booking a hotel that’s an hour drive from everyone else just because its cheaper (because in the long run – it’s not). Speak to your wedding planner or other local experts to determine driving time and ease of access from points A to B. Your guests will thank you for taking the time to make their planning a little easier. You can also list here any discount codes or other special deals that you may have negotiated for your wedding guests. And again, update the page with new information as plans move along.

6/ Tell them how to get there! Provide links to airlines and booking portals that offer the best itineraries and deals to your destination. { Check out Travel Deals on My-StCroix.com } Again, providing insider information to your guests will help to make their decisions easier and they will thank you for it. For example: JetBlue, American Airlines, US Air and Delta fly into St Croix. I’ve had clients’ guests book tickets to St Thomas because the fares were cheaper and then make plans to get to St Croix… 40 miles away across the ocean. When its running (it hasn’t been for the past few years) the ferry is a 2 hour crossing across often rough seas – not for the weak of stomach. The best option between the islands is the seaplane or other small regional carrier averaging $175 R/T and in the long run often costing WAY more. And let’s not even talk about the client who called to ask me if they could rent a car and drive from St Thomas to St Croix AFTER they booked airfare. Sigh. Be kind to your guests and give them the best and most reasonable options – then let them surf the web and book what works for them. You should also let your guests know the best ways to get around once they get to the destination – should they rent a car?

7/ Give them some direction. Will your wedding be formal or casual? Will you be hosting other events? Be sure to let your guests know about the itinerary as it unfolds so they know what to pack, especially for the wedding itself. I’ve had many weddings not only give general attire guidance, but give color or style guidance which looks fabulous in big group pictures! And don’t forget to list any planned activities that may require hiking shoes, snorkels or any other special gear.

Here are some ideas:

Formal attire – Gowns and cocktail dresses for ladies; Jacket and ties for gents (I only recommend this for venues with great air-conditioning when having your wedding in the tropics. You want your guests to be comfortable too)

Island Elegant – Sundresses for ladies; Button down shirts for guys

Beachy Casual – fun prints, long shorts, sundresses, etc

Other ideas:

Have guests dress in your wedding party colors

Have all the men wear tropical print shirts

Have a flip flop contest as part of the wedding festivities!

8/ Gift Giving Guide. Be sure to include links to any places your have registered. { Create a wedding registry at MyRegistry.com } This will allow guests to purchase things you want/need and have them shipped directly to you at home rather than lugging them half-way across the world. Don’t need any “things”? Consider a honeymoon registry – learn more here or even asking for donations to your favorite charity. Guests will appreciate knowing in advance what your gift preferences are.

9/ Build up the excitement with a Guest Book. Most wedding websites have an area for guests to leave messages which is really fun. You may event want to set up a link to a private Facebook Group that you set up for your wedding so that everyone can interact in advance and “get to know” one another or make suggestions for things to do.

10/ Have fun, be organized and make it a unique reflection of you coming together as a couple!

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Why the Pineapple?

The pineapple has long been a symbol hospitality. Sea Captains in New England would bring them home after sailing to the Caribbean and set them out on their gateposts to signal that they were home safe and ready to share gifts of tropical fruit and rum along with their sea-faring tales.

I love that this symbol reflects both my New England heritage and Caribbean home, as well as my love for hospitality and entertaining. Welcome to the Islands!